Consequences of Matrimony
by CocaCola43
Summary: Kenshin and Kaoru: the perfect couple. Husband and wife, hubby and best half. But marriage may not be as easy as they think...and soon they find themselves at each others' throats. But then Kenji is born. Will he be the one to hold them together?
1. To Encounter

A/N: Read on. Read on. Some things don't show up, so I'll try to fix that soon.

Disclaimer: I don't own RK. Watsuki Nobuhiro does.

Consequences of Matrimony 

**By CocaCola43**

**Part I: **

**To Encounter **

The year Kaoru was born, a stately family lived in Japan. They had everything: money, jewelry, good looks, health, and respect. But what they didn't have was harmony. The oldest son was never home, leaving his pregnant wife in bed, weeping. The second son would always leave the house to go play poker and gamble with his friends, losing huge amounts of money and getting sullen when his parents refused to give him more. The youngest son was overly polite and quiet, never wanting to butt into things, and he was the light of his parents' life.

When Kaoru was one year old, the eldest son's wife had hardened, refusing to cry anymore. She became a commandeering woman who always demanded to know where her husband had been, and kept a literal leash around his arm. Her newly born daughter, whom they had christened Misao, was a loud child who screamed and threw things at her nurse. The second son had gotten better at gambling. And the youngest………he was still loved and cherished by his parents.

After five more years, Kaoru went to school for the first time. It was a small building, filled with rowdy children and harried old ladies who she assumed where teachers. She herself was ushered into a large auditorium with red chairs, and was told to sit down on one of them. Kaoru obeyed and sat down. The boy next to her had unnaturally spiky hair and a bored expression on his face. Kaoru's mother had said that school was an exciting experience, so why was he looking so bored?

"Why are you looking so bored?" she asked.

The boy didn't hear her at first. He was staring at the pigtails of the girl sitting in front of him, as if he would like nothing better than to yank them right then and there. Kaoru tried again. "Why are you so bored?"

This time he turned and looked at her. "'Cuz school is boring. I'd rather be drinking sake. Or gambling. For money. I'm good at it. My dad says so."

"Oh." Kaoru had never drank sake before and wondered what it tasted like. "What's it taste like?"

The boy's eyes widened, and he grinned. "It's wonderful. It's sweet and sour, like chicken. I love it. I could drink a gazillion gallons if I had it," he bragged.

"Who ARE you?" Kaoru asked. "You can't be the same age as me."

"**Sagara Sanosuke!**" he shouted. "And I'm proud of it!"

"I'm Ka –" But before she could finish introducing herself, Sanosuke stood up and left to go sit next to a tall girl with long black hair and big black eyes. Kaoru stared after him and shrugged.

**Ten Years Later**

Kaoru, now a junior in high school, felt that her previously happy life was slowly waning away, only to be replaced by a miserable black hole of nothing. Her grades, which had been straight A's through elementary, jr. high, and her freshman year in high school, had dropped dramatically; ever since her science teacher had started teaching about sex, she didn't feel like learning any more. It was hard to concentrate when the subject she was learning about gave her shivers of disgust (or fear; she couldn't tell), and even harder when the people sitting behind her cracked gross jokes about it. One of them was Sanosuke, now called Sano by easygoing friends. He always started snickering when the science teacher came in the classroom. Her name was unknown. She just told her students to call her Miss Yasumi because she said she was graceful and serene and pretty, so that was the best name that fit her. Little did she know that Sanosuke and his friends had a picture of her when she was **not **wearing make-up. He'd shown it to her, and after that Kaoru got a bad case of hiccups whenever Miss Yasumi said things like "Oh, I'll be winning a beauty contest next month" and "Guess what? I balanced a basketball on my head and walked to the end of my block without letting it fall! Is that cool or what?"

Another bad thing about going to school was a girl named Takani Megumi. She was tall and beautiful with long shiny black hair and slightly tanned skin. Half the boys in her school were madly in love with her. That knowledge seemed to give her an air of snobbishness. She wasn't horribly mean to Kaoru, just overly sarcastic and too friendly, as if she pitied the younger girl and wanted to "help out". But it didn't help. Megumi lived in a poor area of the city, but her gracefulness whispered of years in the presence of rich people. Her uncle's cousin was rich. So she visited him, and he gave her new clothes and accessories which Kaoru thought useless, and so she came to school decked out in new fashions and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Needless to say, Kaoru, who was poor and who didn't come to school wearing anything with words on it expect for her name and maybe an occasional "West Side Swim Team", disliked her. She and Megumi were neighbors; Megumi lived three houses away from her. They could have been close friends. But, no. She was just too lofty for Kaoru to handle.

The stately family that had been living in Japan for so long had by now begun to collapse in itself. The eldest son and his wife and daughter were living a not-so-happy life. Their poor daughter was stuck between all the fighting and yelling between her father, Shishio Makoto, and her mother, Shishio Manami. Recently, her uncle had changed her name to Makimachi Misao (Makimachi was her mother's maiden name) because she just couldn't bear to be related to her idiot of a father. "He is a horrible person," she cried, her voice throbbing with passion. "Why the hell did my mother marry him?" To this, her uncle could say nothing. Before his niece could hurl another silk pillow at him, he fled from the room and took up drinking tea downstairs at the living room table.

This uncle, a red-haired man named Himura Kenshin (Himura being the maiden name of his other, as the three sons did everything they could to stay different from each other), was angelic. Every move he made was graceful and had a purpose; no wasted words with this man, no sire. Misao's grandparents were very, very proud of him. In fact, they were so proud of him, they had forced him to get engaged to Yukishiro Tomoe, a prim and proper rich beauty, in hopes of producing beautiful grandchildren.

Misao's OTHER uncle, the one who was always gaming, had died a time before. Apparently he had been in a drunk driving incident, although her parents had never told her who was the driver. He had a son named Sanosuke who was also a skilled gambler, but still a little too triumphant when Lady Luck took favor on him; everyone knew when he got a Royal Flush in poker, and when he got a very bad hand. Thus, it was easy for his opponents to manipulate him by saying, "Nice cards you got there, eh?" The poor boy would snap his head up, shocked, as the offending mind-reader chuckled and swiped a couple chips from Sano's stockpile while he wasn't looking.

Now, back to Kaoru. She lived a harsh life: Everyday, after school was over, she would rush home to help her mother with household work. Her little cousin Myojin Yahiko had recently moved in with them because of family complications (his parents had died in a plane crash on their way back home from their fifth honeymoon). Yahiko refused to talk, and wouldn't socialize with anyone outside the family circle, so he was home schooled by Kaoru's mother, his aunt. With him he had brought his two little sisters, Ayame and Suzume to the family also. These two worshiped their brother and if he didn't talk, neither did they. If he didn't ride on a big yellow school bus like all the other kids his age did, then what reason would they have to ride on it? Thus, they were home schooled also. Yahiko went through his day angrily, pushing too hard with his pencil and breaking the tip when called to write, and often stomping on the wooden floor of the dojo. (Kaoru's late father had been a kendo teacher.)

This concludes the history lesson and begins the real story.

Walking down the sidewalk, and watching her schoolmates clamor happily around a huge billboard with a picture of a famous movie star on it, Kaoru couldn't help but feel thankful that her parents had raised her to be less boy chasing and more studious. She leaned against a stop sign and sighed, her mind filled with the troubles of finishing all her work and still managing to take care of her cousins. Those bratty little…She exhaled, clearing her thoughts. She couldn't let others know she hated them. How shocked they would look!

And then she would be reprimanded, and they would remind her that she needed to take care of them because they were still in trauma and had to adapt to the fact that their parents were gone and would never come back. The stupid idiot Yahiko only served to make trouble, and his sisters were no better. When they did talk, most of what they said followed the lines of, _"Come **ON**, Kaoru-nee! Hurry! Kaoru-nee, you're so slow…Oh, Kaoru-nee, look at that puppy dog! I want a doggy! I want a doggy!" _And when she told them they couldn't get a dog, it would be too expensive, and besides, dogs shed hair all over the place, they burst into wailing tears and screamed, _"Kaoru-nee, you're no fun! I hate you!"_ How could everyone else see them as perfect little angels when in truth they were just…UGH!

In her pessimistic thinking she had unconsciously balled her hands into tight fists – she used the advice of her guidance counselor and took deep breaths, deep breaths. Happy thoughts. Think rainbows, joyfulness, cheerful bunnies hopping over the grass…Oh God, no. Not bunnies again.

People were beginning to stare at her. She quickly turned and walked toward home.

"I'm home, Mom," she called wearily, setting her schoolbag down by the door and taking off her shoes. "Hello?"

Peals of laughter floated down the hallway, and she followed the sound to the living room, where her mother and cousins were playing Monopoly together. Presumably, Ayame had just bought a hotel, and had placed it on the square that read, "Go to Jail." Suzume giggled as her mother pantomimed her top hat scooting down the board, expecting to be given luxurious accommodations at the hotel but was instead greeted with the prospect of jail. Yahiko glared at his little sister, and elbowed her to make her stop laughing.

"Having fun?" Kaoru asked loudly. Her mother looked up, tears of mirth dripping down her face.

"Of course, dear! I'm just exploding with laughter." She wiped her face with a handkerchief, and calmed down, although a small giggle erupted from her at random intervals. "Why don't you go get some (giggle) tea for us (giggle) Kaoru dear?"

"Of course, Mother," she replied dryly. "I was about to do just that."

"That's my daughter," her mother said, smiling.

Kaoru escaped to the kitchen, where she began to get out the teapot, banged her head against the door of the cabinet, and slipped on a mass of ice cubes. "What do they do during the day," she muttered, "that may one day kill me?" As she watched water boil, she heard another sound of glee, probably coming from Ayame – she giggled like that, a high-pitched squeal that could make a bat cringe. Then she heard her mother's deep laughter. _Mom never laughed like that when she played Monopoly with me. _She thought about accidentally burning her hand. Maybe that would get some attention.

No, she decided. She wouldn't lower herself to that. The kettle whistled, and she turned off the heat. "Jasmine tea…jasmine tea…" Her hands fumbled with the canister, and dried leaves poured onto the counter. A musty odor arose, and Kaoru gagged. Disgusting, but her mother and the brats liked it. She herself preferred coffee, all black and thin.

She saved as many leaves as she could, but the rest of it she threw away. Soon, three steaming cups of tea and a white teapot made its way to the Monopoly playing persons. She'd even added some small biscuits. Sugar cookies – disgusting. Kaoru set the tray down on the low coffee table, greeting them with, "Here's your tea, Mother."

Her mother turned, all smiles, holding a peach $50 bill in her hand. Stupid Monopoly money. "Oh, thank you, dear." She placed her money on the hardwood floor. "Now, go have fun."

"Yes, mother," she replied, her face stony and emotionless. A mask. A mask, hiding the unkind feelings and hatred toward her idiot cousins. Suzume brightened when she saw the tea, but when she figured out that it was Kaoru who had made it, she complained, "I don't want any."

Her mother asked gently, sweetly, "But why, Suzume-chan?"

She pointed at Kaoru with a chubby finger. "'Cause _she _made it."

"Oh, Suzume-chan…" Her mother looked at Kaoru sadly. "Kaoru, dear, what did you do to your cousin now?"

She felt a need to protest. "I didn't do – "

"Go." Her mom looked away. "I'm very disappointed in you, Kaoru."

She left, gritting her teeth, seething with fury. Hadn't she made the tea? Hadn't she slaved for them, taking them to amusement parks, to the zoo? And now, she was being blamed for something she didn't do!

Kaoru stomped outside, breathing in the soothing aroma from the orange tree in her front yard. Be good, the plants seemed to tell her. Don't be angry.

"But I can't HELP being angry," she told them.

"Don't be angry," the tree said. "For many a wise man has met his downfall with senseless anger."

"I know…I'm sorry, Mr. Tree, but sometimes your advice doesn't work."

Kenshin blinked. Had the black-haired girl just called him a tree? "I'm not a tree."

Kaoru blinked. Had the orange tree just said it wasn't a tree? "Who's there?" she asked, wary of the fact that there might be someone speaking to her.

Kenshin extricated himself from the branches of the tree. Some kind of fruit – probably oranges, although they were greenish still – stuck to his foot. As he fell on the ground, the poor citrus gave a soft **squish** and was no more. Kaoru screamed when the man got up.

"Stalker!"

He tried to explain. "I'm not – "

"Stalker!"

"Miss!" He brushed the grass off his clothing. "I was just examining your fruit. They seem very healthy."

"Not anymore," Kaoru retorted. "You just stepped on one."

"Eheheh…" He peeled off the remains of the orange from his shoe. "Sorry about that, miss." He turned away. "Well, I'll be seeing you around."

"Good-bye!" she called. "And don't come back!"

When he was out of earshot, she muttered, "Stupid redheaded idiot. Just like my cousins…always getting into things…" She shook her head and sighed. How was she going to explain the fallen fruit to her mother?

At least now she had something to think about while she did chores for her mom.

A/N: I know you're thinking I'm weird for coming up with such a stupid story, but well…what can I say? I think a lot.

Next:

**Part II: To Experience**

Review, onegai!


	2. To Experience

A/N: Please.

Disclaimer: I don't own RK. Watsuki Nobuhiro does.

Warnings: Some spelling/grammar mistakes, OOC-ness, loss of subject separators ()?

**Consequences of Matrimony **

**By CocaCola43**

****

**Part II: To Experience**

The sun was high, the sky was blue, the grass was green, and Miss Tomoe was here. Shishio sipped a cup of tea, his eyes glazing over in boredom. His wife and Misao sat on the leather couch, leaning forward excitedly. Miss Tomoe sat in a red velvet armchair in the very center of the living room, her white silk dress draping elegantly onto the plush carpeting. Her face was angelic, her doe-like eyes examining every part of the room as if calculating whether this would be a good enough home for her after she was married to Mr. Himura. She sighed. All this surname changing gave her a headache; why couldn't they just all be the same? It wasn't as if they were from different families. She thought about what Enishi would say about this. He'd probably laugh and retort, "Well, some idiots are like that."

But she didn't want to marry an idiot. She wanted to marry Akita. She remembered the last time she'd been with him. It had been two months ago, in her vegetable garden. He'd snuck behind her and offered to help water the plants. She'd turned to him, a tomato plant in her hands, and smiled.

But she couldn't marry him. No one approved. And besides, she was bound to her duty.

Her eyes set on Himura Kenshin, who was laying back on a recliner; he was looking at her too, politely. Tomoe smiled at the thought of marrying him. He looked too much like a girl…but she couldn't deny that he was handsome, at least. In a feminine way.

At this moment Kenshin's father, Hiko, waltzed in with his wife. "Miss Tomoe!" he boomed. "Looking beautiful today." He cleared his throat and sat down, his wife breathless at his side. "As always."

"Thank you, sir." Tomoe bowed her head down as was expected of her.

"No, no, don't call me sir! The wedding's barely three months away, dear. You should call me…" He stared at the ceiling. "…Father."

"Yes, Father," she murmured, casting a glance at her betrothed. He was bright red. Tomoe smirked to herself. It matched his hair. Her mind wandered as her soon-to-be father-in-law droned on and on about wedding preparations, becoming a family, maintaining love and trust…_Bull_, she thought to herself. _We know all that already._

"…Many children do you plan to have?"

It took her a while to realize the question was directed at her. "Uh…what?"

Kenshin's mother smiled indulgently. "I said, dear, how many children do you plan to have?"

"Um…" She thought about it. "I'm not sure yet."

"Just as well!" she said approvingly. "You must never plan too far ahead."

Kenshin snorted. The others stared at him. "Yes, Kenshin?" his mother asked.

"Nothing," he muttered. He chided himself for not listening. He couldn't help it; his mind was filled with thoughts of the black-haired girl he'd met two days ago. He had no idea what her name was, but he knew where she lived. What HAD he been doing in that tree? Kenshin didn't know, but whatever it was, he couldn't afford to let it happen again. Or else he'd be falling in love with the wrong girl. He needed to marry the woman in front of him, this beautiful Yukishiro Tomoe. She looked like a supermodel: elegant, long-legged, and slim. That other girl was anything but elegant.

"Miss Kamiya?" Miss Yasumi asked, smiling.

"Y-yes?" Kaoru gulped.

"Would you like to summarize today's lesson for your classmates?"

"U-um…" She cleared her throat. "Today we…we learned about the female reproductive system…"

"And?" Miss Yasumi prodded. "Go on."

"And…" Kaoru shuffled through her notebook. "And…after women hit puberty, they go through a…um, they start menstruating. And they are now able to reproduce sexually. And…" Looking up at her teacher, she finished, "that's all we learned today, ma'am."

"Good job." She turned her attention away from Kaoru and addressed the class. "Read Chapter 12, Lesson 1, and answer the questions at the end of the section. Bring scissors tomorrow. You are dismissed."

Kaoru fumbled with her things, stuffing them into her backpack unceremoniously. She zipped up her bag and hitched it over her shoulder, preparing to leave when she felt a tap on her arm. Kaoru turned and saw Takani Megumi, the class beauty, looking down at her, eyes twinkling.

"Yes, Miss Takani?" she asked, keeping her tone polite.

"Megumi, if you will." She swept herself forward and sat on Kaoru's desk, slender legs swinging. Megumi twirled her hair in her fingers and said, "Kaoru, I think we all know that you aren't doing so well in science."

She gulped. "Y-yes, but the subjects…"

"Screw the subjects. Kaoru, I can help you, if you let me. I'm not just some high and mighty snob, you know. We're neighbors. I'm trying to be neighborly."

"I know, Megumi…" Kaoru tightened her grip on her bag. "I have to get to P.E."

"I'm sure you do," she replied wryly. "We'll talk later." They left each other in the hall, traveling in opposite directions. But Kaoru was still thinking about what Megumi had said.

"Mom, I'm going to Megumi's house," Kaoru called, packing a science book into her bag.

"Again?" Her mother walked to the front door where Kaoru was putting her sneakers on. "And leave me here with your cousins?"

"They're sleeping," she retorted. "And besides, they love you. If I were here, though, they'd be wild. You know what I'm talking about."

She sighed. "Yes, Kaoru dear, but they wouldn't hate you if you were just a little more understanding. Besides, my sister never did know how to take care of children. It's a wonder they aren't even more spoiled than they are now." Her mother mopped her brow with a sleeve. "But I suppose if you have to get your science grade up, you have to get your science grade up…I don't see what's wrong with a C-…it's still passing, isn't it? Also, you have plenty of time to have Miss Takani tutor you. Why tonight?" She took a deep breath.

"I want to, Mom." Kaoru couldn't tell her mother that she would do anything to get herself out of that hateful house and away from her hateful cousins. "And a C- isn't really passing." She went out into the cold and shut the door. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the streetlights, and zoom, off she went to Megumi's house. She didn't see the point in elaborating her last sentence. Her mother had been so caught up in taking care of her cousins that she didn't know the dangers of mediocre grades in high school. She never went to parent/teacher conferences anyway. Not even back-to-school night anymore.

Ding-dong!

Kaoru waited by Megumi's front door, tapping her foot to an unheard rhythm. The door opened, and there stood Megumi's mother and Megumi, the latter of which clad in baggy sweats and a black tank top. Of course, they were brand name also. She saw the letters N-I-K-E across Megumi's shirt, accompanied by the little swoosh.

"Why, hello, Kaoru," Mrs. Takani greeted her pleasantly. "Do come in."

Kaoru stepped inside, removing her shoes and placing them neatly beside the other shoes. She spotted an unfamiliar pair of basketball shoes that most certainly couldn't belong to Megumi, Mrs. Takani, or Mr. Takani. "Who's here?"

"Sano," Megumi replied carelessly. "Come on, we're working in the kitchen tonight."

True to her word, Kaoru came upon a yawning Sanosuke sitting on a chair with his feet propped up on the table. His face, void of stubble and unsightly zits, was a light brown, peach undertones around his high cheekbones. Girls fainted after being greeted with a polite "Hi." But he didn't care for any of them. "Hello, Tanuki," he said amiably, cleaning his teeth with a toothpick. The remains of a roasted chicken lay before him on his plate. "Why are you here?"

"Homework," responded Kaoru, her stomach fluttering. It always made her heart warm over when she heard her nickname coming from those lips. She didn't know why.

"Ah," Sanosuke said sagely, nodding. "Used to do it. Don't anymore. No real use." He winked. "Lucky for me all my teachers are girls."

"Shut up, Rooster-head," Megumi said, coming in with a notebook, pens, and the science textbook. She rarely resorted to using his given nickname away from school; tonight was an exception. "You're going to be a bad example for her."

Kaoru gave a nervous smile; Sanosuke was a senior with even poorer grades than she, and very little people believed that he would have a chance of graduating except for the fact that he belonged to a very powerful family. But money seemed to win the heart of the principal, and Sanosuke had been allowed to participate in the graduation activities, which would take place in May.

"Well, I don't seem to be affecting my cousin," he was saying. "She's still as bratty as the day she was born. Maybe if she spent a little more time with me she'd pick up a good habit."

"You don't have any good in you, Sagara Sanosuke, save for your ability to help people in need of a decent bit of fun. One look at your face – and BAM, they're rolling on the floor laughing their heads off."

"That was uncalled for, Fox."

They spent the rest of the evening in peace, save for the small arguments that would quell up whenever Sanosuke put in his own ideas in response to something Megumi was telling Kaoru to do. One such example was:

_"Kaoru, remember not to get flustered when asked to speak in class. Everyone wants to hear what you have to say."_

_"I always speak my mind, no matter what anyone says. It's gotten me in a lot of trouble, too."_

_"Rooster-head, you always speak your mind, and one day you're going to die because of it. I just know it."_

_"Aw, come on, Fox, that's pretty mean."_

By the time they had finished studying the entire chapter, it was eight thirty. "Mom's going to kill me," Kaoru murmured, stacking her books and shoving them into her bag. "I said I'd be home by eight."

"Not obeying a parent's orders? Ah, I guess you must be picking up on me," Sano said good-naturedly, tilting his chair back so that his head touched the red flowery wallpaper.

Kaoru packed up hurriedly, making sure not to leave a single scrap of paper behind. Megumi walked her to the door, making sure she wouldn't trip over her own feet or anything. "Kaoru," she called softly, "Kaoru, if there's anything you need, tell me about it, hmm?"

"Sure," she muttered in reply, and ran out the door.

Megumi sighed as she closed the door, locking it and returning to the kitchen. "I'm worried about her, Sano," she admitted, her hands busy at washing the dishes.

"Don't be," he assured her. "I've known her for years, she can take care of herself."

"I know."

Sanosuke stood up and stretched. "Well, I've got to get going. Bye, Fox." He walked to the kitchen and gave her his customary kiss on the cheek. "I'll be seeing you." He pulled out a cell phone, dialed a few numbers, and said into it, "Megumi's house. Pronto." He hung up.

"That's very terse," she commented, rinsing off the last suds of soap from a plate. Sanosuke smiled self-consciously and looked at the wall. "I bet you could do anything in that big house of yours," she continued.

She sounded longing. Almost jealous…? No. Just wistful.

"It's not that great, Fox." The doorbell rang. "Bye." Open, talk, close. Just like that, Sano was gone. Her parents were asleep. Her hair was disheveled, her hands were wet, and there was an empty space in her heart where Sano had occupied just moments before.

"So it's settled," Hiko declared. "You're soon to be married."

They had talked through the whole day, all the way through tea time and dinner.

Tomoe blushed and looked at her folded hands. Kenshin stared at the wall, unseeing, unhearing. Hiko continued, "And I'm going to make sure you two are happy."

"Don't bother, Dad," Shishio drawled from his seat. "I'm sure Kenshin can take care of himself AND a wife AND children. After all, he's taken care of this family since the day he was born, hmm?"

"What are you talking about?" Hiko snapped. "I've been taking care of this family. And I intend to do so until I die."

Shishio nodded, ever the obedient son, and rolled his eyes. "May that day never come, Father." His daughter glared at him, muttering fervent curses under her breath. If Misao had the power to make her wishes come true, Shishio Makoto would not be a very happy man right now. In fact, he'd be burning in that hot, frightening underworld in the very ninth level itself. And her mother would be an angel, in the very highest part of the empyrean, gently guiding foolish humans to the right path to goodness.

Kenshin sighed, shook his head. Red hair slapped around like a beaver's tail upon still water. "I-I'm sorry, Father…I'm not feeling well." He bowed to his bride-to-be. "And excuse me, Miss Tomoe. I seem to have a slight headache, and my sore throat" here he coughed "is coming back."

Hiko exhaled, swearing. "Well, then you may retire to your room for the rest of the night. I'll tell one of the servants to bring up some warm milk and cookies."

"No, don't bother, Dad," Kenshin replied, his face flaming – imagine being told in front of your future wife to drink warm milk and eat cookies! – "I can go to the doctor's right now. It's really not a hassle."

"Oh, but Kenshin, dear," his mother cried, aghast, "we could always bring the doctor here, couldn't we? It isn't so bad that the doctor will have to do surgery, is it?"

"Of course not," Hiko said abruptly. "It's not a brain tumor or anything…is it?"

"No, I just need to go out, see the doctor, and get some fresh air…I'll call if anything happens, all right?" He pushed his way through the throng of concerned family and glared daggers at his eldest brother, who hadn't even bothered to get up from his seat. His brow furrowed. Makoto had always hated him, but if a brother was hurt, he'd care, wouldn't he? Or maybe he'd seen through Kenshin's fake acting, and knew nothing was wrong with him. Hopefully he wouldn't tell anyone.

Just as Kenshin started going down the staircase leading to the front door, Shishio said, smirking, "Are you sure something's wrong with the favorite? He seems pretty energetic right now."

"What? What are you talking about, Makoto?"

By then Kenshin was gone.

He shut the door behind him and made his way down the marble steps. So many! His legs were aching. At least he could get some exercise in it.

He had no intention at all of going to the doctor's. Dr. Gensai was a nice man, but he could certainly tell his parents nothing was wrong with him. No, he wanted to go see that black-haired girl again. Hopefully he hadn't damaged the orange tree permanently. Last time she'd seemed to be in a pretty bad mood; he hoped this time it would go better. Kenshin imagined her face in his mind: pale skin, untouched by the sun's rays, thick black hair, tied back into a modest ponytail, large blue eyes, thick eyebrows that clashed with her delicate features, and light pink lips. A smattering of freckles dotted across her nose and cheekbones, so light that most of the time they were imperceptible. How strange that she could capture his attention so fully, when he already had so much to think about. And how strange that he didn't love Tomoe, when she was far more beautiful and ladylike than this girl. He pictured Tomoe: tall and slender, and compared her to that other girl, short and thin. Tomoe possessed features that many women would kill for. How could he throw all that away?

He neared the small house. In the yellow light of the lamps he saw that the tree was just fine, and he was relieved. Then he stood there, unsure of what to do. Should he stay, and risk being found out? Or should he go, and have that foreign emptiness fill him again?

_Go,_ the logical side of his brain answered. _Go. Be happy with Tomoe._

_NO, _the passionate side replied, _stay and see the girl. It's obvious you care for her, more than that boring Yukishiro. Stay!_

What could he do? He walked to the stonewall that surrounded her backyard and heaved himself up, looking over the top at the flowers and plants. A musty scent of jasmine floated up and made him breathe in with content. That was what she smelled like. So sweet.

"I could stay here forever," he sighed, and propped his head on his hands. He lost himself in dreamland, where he met the girl over and over again, each time imagining her saying, "_Thank you, sir! What's your name?"_ To which he answered, "Himura Kenshin," and she replied, _"That's such a wonderful name! I'm (insert random name)! Pleased to meet you!" _And then they would go on wonderful adventures together, vanquishing foes, fighting valiant battles, and at the end he would say, "_My dear, we have come to the end of our journey." _And she would reply, "_Oh, no! Don't leave me, my wonderful Kenshin!" _And he would promise that he wouldn't, and they would share a sweet kiss as the sun set in the painted sky…

Oh, it was all so romantic.

He could have gone on dreaming like that forever, had it not been for the wail of the police siren and the bright blue lights that came and took his illusions away.

"What're you doing there? That's private property! This is way too late to be strolling around. Hands up, let go of everything. Get down from that wall!!" a man shouted.

It took awhile for Kenshin to realize there were police about. A man walked up to him and shook him. "Get down!"

"No," he mumbled, still only half-aware of his surroundings and his situation. "I won't."

The man took out a black thing. He didn't know what it was. "What's that?" he murmured.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain at the side of his leg, and he realized the policeman had hit him with the black object. "Ow!" But still he wouldn't get down from the wall.

"Ow! Ow!" he repeated, as he felt more and more pain. "Stop it!"

"Get down!" the policeman hissed. "Or else I'm arresting you." He tried to pry his fingers away from the wall, but to no avail. Kenshin clung to the sparse blades of grass poking up through the stone with all his might, staying stiff on the wall.

"What the – excuse me!" a woman called from inside the house, looking through the open window, her voice strained. "We're trying to sleep and – " She spotted Kenshin clinging to her wall and gaped. "What…"

"Let me see," another voice called. Kenshin's heart leapt: it was the voice of his beloved, the black-haired girl! Her sweet face appeared in the window, and she stared at him. "It's that guy," she told the other woman, presumably her mother. "He came the day before yesterday. Said he was examining our orange tree."

"Well, I…" A dumbfounded expression settled on the woman's lined, mature face. "I…" Lacking a logical explanation, she rounded on her daughter. "This man has been following you?"

"What? No…" The girl cleared her throat. "I mean…" The rest of her speech was drowned out by the arrival of more sirens, and another policeman hopped out of his police car. "What's the trouble?" he asked the man trying to pull Kenshin off the wall. The said policeman grunted and stopped trying to heave him off.

"This punk here, in that stupid white tux…who wears tuxedoes to commit crime, anyway? He's not some wannabe Mamoru coming to rescue his Sailor Moon by throwing roses at the monster, is he?" The two men chuckled at the comparison, unaware that they had gotten their facts mixed up.

"Come on, bud. We're arresting ya." The strength of two men dragging him together overcame his will to stay in the scent of jasmine forever. He went limp and passed out.

"I wonder what came over that man," Kaoru's mother sighed. "He seemed nice."

"You didn't see him, Mother," intoned her daughter wearily. "I don't think you should judge a book by its cover."

"Who are you to talk, girl? Get to bed." Her mother bustled around the kitchen. "Oh, Yahiko will never get a good night's sleep this way." She left the room.

Left all alone by herself, Kaoru washed her hands at the sink and sat down in a chair, looking sadly at the mess of a recreation room her mother had set up for her cousins. The plush sofa they'd had before had been ruined when Suzume spilled hot chocolate on the seats. Her mother had smiled bravely and turned the seat around, so the stain was at the bottom where no one could see it. But then Yahiko and Ayame, while watching TV, had spilled Coke all over the place. As always, Kaoru's mother refused to get angry, and placed a towel over the sofa, but they'd needed to wash the towel so often they'd decided it wouldn't be environmentally healthy to waste so much water. The sofa had been donated to some organization collecting old furniture, and in its place her mother had put a flat blue mat not much unlike the one Kaoru used for gymnastics at school. Watching TV became horribly uncomfortable unless you brought a pillow to sit on, and even then your legs ached for something to bend with.

A normal rec room had a pool table, ping-pong table, and foosball table. The Kamiya/Myojin family rec room had a TV and a mat. And some board games. Not even cable, just some channels that showed nature documentaries and little kids' shows. At least Ayame and Suzume could be happy. Yahiko was sullen unless Animal Universe was showing some delightfully violent battle between two male sea elephants trying to gain the attention of a female.

Now about that red-haired man…

A/N: Blah. Blah.

Next:

Part III: To Elevate 

Review! Please.


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